Is Disney World Getting Worse?
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
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In recent years, there's been a constant sentiment repeated online, that Disney World is getting worse. From rising prices, to rising crowds, to declining quality, everything about the parks is being criticized. But is any of this actually true? Let's take a look at the current state of Walt Disney World, the history of its "dark eras", and try to answer that question.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
2:53 Rising Cost and Crowds
7:06 Declining Value
13:36 Haven't We Been Here Before?
19:16 The Future of Disney World - Розваги
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Too expensive, too crowded, attractions are always down, loss of perks, attitudes of both the cast members and customers are terrible, It's just not a very enjoyable time anymore.
Then go to sea world! You’ll enjoy those crowds they attract haha
I still think the Disney parks operations are some of the best of any park
@@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3odyeah you need to actually visit other parks then
@@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3odDollywood has ever bit as good employees if not better! There’s a reason why it was once again named the Best Park in world by Golden Ticket!
I agree with you 100%. I went in 2023 and compared to the last time I went in 2012. WDW has really, really gone down the toilet. It's not just a few things that have gone wrong. but every thing has. It's just AWFUL down there.
Now the Disney difference means getting nickeled and dimed
I commented in the UA-cam series DSNY newscast ideas to help budget the average Disney guest.
Lightning lane, buy two get one free.
My main one was ,Disney Express bussing from the Orlando Airport to Disney Springs no matter which Disney property, good neighbor, or area hotel you were staying. Guests can easily transfer by bus to their on property hotel, or boat ride to Saratoga Springs, Port Orleans, or Old Key West, or walk to Disney Springs good neighbor hotels. It will also be a fraction of a cost for rideshare to get from Disney Springs to their hotel, rather than the Orlando airport to their hotel.
On a separate note, I thought that advertising from the mid 2000s back was more meaningful and touching. Whereas now it just feels like another advertisement on TV. Disneys advertising draw used to be more captivating. The mid 1990’s “Remember the Magic” was a captivating example. It had its own theme song, and the guest emotions were genuinely captured on film that is genuine advertising.
And quartered and halfdollered
If a nickel is 50 dollars and a dime is 100 dollars.
@@juliezimmerman3476in GAY DADDY WHERE'S DADDY
Without anymore magic. It's become gutted
Add a fourth C for "complexity". Planning a WDW vacation is now a part-time job for all but the most experienced enthusiasts. How many guests show up for their dream vacation only to be blindsided by how many of the offerings are not accessible to them because they failed to nail down dining reservations months in advance, or weren't aware of the virtual queue system for the most popular attractions?
In all truthfulness, due to visiting from Australia during covid, having to calendarize when I could start looking for dining reservations (and finding most of the ones I wanted always gone), the cost and complexity of Genie Plus and Lightning Lane - I had a mini breakdown one day while in Epcot. I'm an EXPERIENCED theme park attendee and had been studying the new systems for months/years and even I found it too much. What sucks for a basic day guest is you cannot just choose in the morning to swing by WDW and visit a park and have a decent meal. It all has to be pre-planned months, if not a year in advance. That's a JOB, and I already have one of those.
This I agree with. You need to be up on all the tips. Days of showing up and winging it are over. Feel bad for older adults who aren’t use to that
Every time I've gone to WDW the past few years, it's been like this. It felt more like a job and a chore rather than having a fun outing with the family.
When we went to Universal, we just felt we could relax and walk around and enjoy ourselves. We've not gone back to WDW since.
i agree. i went for the first time two years ago and this was my least favorite part. it felt really hard to just “vibe”
I highly agree. Disney is the last place where I want to feel glued to my phone, but you kind of have to in order to get your ride reservations and such.
Pay more, get less should really be Disney’s new motto
Fairy dust is a hell of a drug.
That is the motto incomplete. Im sure its, pay more, get less and the americans will overcrowd the park.
Disney will be expanding capacity at Walt Disney World by sending guests over to Universal's Epic Universe.
Excellent - I love this!
@@tulinfirenze1990 From my understanding, the Hulu deal between Disney and Comcast/Universal will basically finance the construction of Epic Universe. Back during the post Euro Disney downsizing, Universal scooped up many Walt Disney Imagineers resulting in Universal's Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay. The altruism of the Walt Disney Company toward Universal is truly epic.
Ugh.. WHY?
As if Disney doesn't have enough money to make an actual solution, nope. Just ship the crowds out to another park
Walt AND Roy would be disgusted. They built these parks.
@@ZeranZeran Bob Iger's priority is to invest in the Asian parks and resorts, not Walt Disney World. If Florida tourists are unhappy with their Disney experience, they can visit Universal. But, if they want an authentic Disney experience, they can visit Asia.
@@david_walker_esq Yeah F that. Walt would punch him in the face
i disagree with the sentiment that wdw was "always expensive".
my family started going...all the time...in the 80's and 90's. during that time, rooms were laughably cheap. tickets were cheaper than amusement parks like cedar point. food - burgers were on par with mcdonald's prices.
if anything, during that period, disney was underpriced.
Yeah something like 10 years ago moderate resorts were like $140-150/night during the "value time" (or whatever they called their slow period) and that was the rack rate, before any discounts which there always seemed to be 30% discounts.
Exactly! I was shocked with how much Browning insisted on nuance in this video, he grossly overlooked that.
It depends if flights were needed. Also, for that time, it was expensive relatively. Much cheaper than today, but still much more than a trip to Cedar Point or Great Adventure. You don't get the same atmosphere but a better ride selection. Heck Sea World offers a better coaster selection than Animal Kingdom has total rides.
Epic Universe will open with more rides than many Florida Disney parks have still, with the same level of theming. So why do Disney when a Universal pass offers more for the same/similar price?
That’s not an accurate way to look at it though, because the cost of all entertainment (especially theme parks and hotels/resorts which are Disney parks main competition) have all outpaced inflation.
Yes Disney has absolutely outpaced inflation but so has every comparable alternative
If crowding remains an issue, then that obviously means the parks are selling out regardless of cost. So why would Disney not continue raising prices?
Yeah it was “expensive” but like you said - you could make it work. Now it’s exorbitant! My Mom complained that she went to Thailand for the cost of going to Disney for 4 days. That’s insane.
It's getting worse and more expensive because Disney has put it's focus on attracting higher income families to come to Disney world instead of it being centered on normal families.
Sadly this is happening with nearly all forms of entertainment, including movies, games, and special events. Corporations have learned that they can make more money off of the top 10% of families who overspend and have more time and money than they know what to do with.
@@WaddleDee105 This seems like something that could backfire on them
@@thatonerotom8999 It could, but companies always think short term profits over long term gains. Hopefully it backfires sooner than later.
They’re only able to get away with this cause they have no direct competition. Atleast not yet. Universal is getting close but it’s still not big enough to threaten Disney. A future business would have to be created that caters to lower income families that can provide a similar customer experince to Disney for less than half the price. That would cause Disney to start losing customers and they’d have to stop overpricing in order to compete.
It already did with that Star Wars "hotel".
I think Disney has lost its creative integrity. Everything new has to be based on preexisting IP, nothing new or innovative at all like Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Journey Into Imagination, etc, no new characters unique to just the parks. Its become so tired and boring. Now the parks just feel like a large marketing machine like Six Flags.
Well Cindirella, Winnie the Poh, Peter Pan, sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio are all kind of IP
@@EugenioGrant I never said I was against IP in general. Its just the fact that its all they do these days with no originality. In the old days it was a balance between IP and original attractions.
The main issue I'm concerned about is that as prices continue to rise, some people will inevitably keep paying to go, meaning the issue wont just fix itself. Unfortunately, those with smaller incomes will become pushed away from Disney as they can no longer afford tickets, disney accommodation, Genie+, and general costs within the park.
Those unable to afford ever increasing Disney prices will miss seeing attractions that aren't working, overflowing trash bins, two hour plus wait times... I could go on, but the bottom line is I don't see where people who actually can afford to go to Disney are the winners here.
@@TJ347not sure what you’re talking about. Maybe this is true during the holidays but I have rarely seen rides at 2 hr waits and overflowing trash cans… I have seen rides closed but that is only their new rides and it usually doesn’t last long. Universal experiences the same issues and is just as expensive… people are just hating on Disney to hate on them.
Disney world used to be a fun well vacation, now it's so much work it's so confusing, it used to be a destination you could go and leave your stress at home and literally just experience the magic and recharge, now it's so much work and everything requires you full attention and you have to be on your phone constantly, it's all work and anxiety and ends up being more stress than the stress you had at home
Could not agree more, it is like being a phone slave all day, and even then it can be very wasteful and a disappointment. Nothing worse than playing with your phone to get the extra charges of gene-, then have the ride break down and they leave you in line for 30 minutes with zero recourse. It really happened to me and my son, twice in one day. Went to customer service (35 minutes in a slllooowww line) They gave me paper fast passes for lightening lanes to try to "fix" me. The workers at one of the places I used the paper pass actually said "Oh you are one of those!" Which caused others in the line to quiz me and my son on what did that mean!!!!! Horrible way to treat a guest, but I believe Disney thinks we are all marks now for taking money from. WCDB
Yes!
With all the insane prices for everything at DW, I'm still baffled that the parks are still overcrowded.
Covid changed a lot of things. That’s for sure.
A significant number of these people are the kind who fit several categories:
A - They've never been but feel that it's a ritual and they HAVE to go at least once. They pay and go once. Done! The issue is that there are so many of this kind out there. It's a neverending thing.
B - They've been there before but they plan to throw in the towel. They go once. They KNOW it stinks. They know about all the issues that others have complained about for the last 2-3 years. But they still feel like getting one last trip in anyway.
C - They just won't admit reality. These are the ones who are the meanest, loudest, rudest you meet on vacation forums. They always get offended and shout when someone dares to criticize their precious Disney. They refuse to see reality: prices are outrageous (they claim it's because it's not cheap to run anything; then explain why rides keep breaking down and people are complaining that everything is being neglected? i.e. trash everywhere, lack of service, lack of maintenance, etc.).
They are enchanted and blinded by the pixie dust and will continue to spend spend and spend even if a ticket price hits $150 on a "low crowd day". And trust me, it will. I suspect many are recent fans who probably visited in the early 2000s just before things started going downhill. I've been twice: in 1988 and 2003. Even back in 2003, I noticed neglect in the parks: the track on the PeopleMover was already in very bad shape. The food wasn't great either and ticket prices were so steep I could only afford a 2 day ticket, not 3 days. Then in 2019, I TRIED to plan a vacation. The ticket prices FLOORED me. I gave up and went to Universal's website. It saved me about $500 just on ticket and hotel room. We're not including food and travel expenses. And I went alone. That means a family of 3 might have saved $1,200 going to Universal in 2020 instead of Disney! These kinds of superfans are the ones who will keep going even if Disney charged the earth for a measly ticket. I bet they account for a significant chunk of the crowds.
Where else CAN we go. Six Flags Atlanta is always down. If there's a single raindrop in the sky, everything goes down for hours because it keeps costs low.
Universal and Busch Gardens are fantastic @@bethocdunwitty6641
I used to think I'd be able to afford a trip to disneyworld
And recently I've genuinely come to the conclusion I definitely never will and it's very disappointing
I went a few times a decade ago but I'm in a similar boat now. There's a ton of stuff I'd love to experience at Disney World that I either missed out on in the past or is relatively new but there's no way I can afford it.
As a working-class family in the 2000’s, in the UK, we used to be able to afford a two-week trip every two years with a dining plan. We always stayed at the moderate resorts and had some money spare to buy merchandise.
If I were to book a holiday now with the same plan, without spending money, the price is over double in real terms (and this is without spending money and tip money). It’s not a viable holiday option for many families anymore, even with scraping pennies together.
The last time I visited Florida was 2018, where I visited Universal. It came to be the only option where we could afford all the extras without being short for spending and tips.
It’s a shame that Disney continues to keep their customers digging in their pockets for services that used to be free, and services that certainly helped holidaymakers coming from abroad (cough cough magic express).
I would love to experience the new magic they’re adding to the park. It all looks amazing! However, it is no longer something I could comfortably afford, even with a decent salary.
Short-term profits, long-term losses.
Bingo. They are shortsighted in general. They are in the process of losing generational fandom. The kids now aren’t going to have the same nostalgia for Disney when they become adults as previous generations.
The more time that passes the more I think Eisner got a bad wrap in the end. HALF of the most loved things of Disney were bc of Eisner. Eisner ran into problems when he lost his confidence and stopped thinking and doing BIG. He pushed the brakes when he should have gassed it, then sharks smelled blood in the water and attacked. I really am starting to think everything done after Eisner has been worse than the mistakes Eisner is remembered for. (And I have a deep hatred of California adventure so that is saying a lot). The mess Disney is in is 100% caused by post Eisner management. Disney is about greed and the bottom line now not magic and creativity like before.
100% agree. For all his flaws, at least Eisner had creativity and willingness to try new things which is something imo modern disney is really falling short on
i totally agree, not sure why this is an unpopular opinion.
I partly agree and I like the Eisner era, I like some of his decision-making (especially a lot of his creativity-first decision-making) and I prefer that era to the current era. At least Disney had a real identity at the time. Whereas now I see Disney Plus being advertised with The Kardashians. Which to me feels like the brand just doesn't mean anything anymore.
However, much of the good stuff during the Eisner era did not happen BECAUSE of Eisner, but in spite of him. Much of his reputation is unfair and negatively narrativized in hindsight. But much of it was fair too. His reign was a pretty mixed bag.
I just don't understand much of the adamant simping for Iger that is still happening compared to Eisner.
Am I the only person who thinks California Adventure is easily the best Disney park
Michael Eisner and Frank Wells were a great team. They balanced each other out and led the Disney decade in the 90s, undoubtedly the best WDW expansion in history. We’ll never see anything like that again.
Last month, I went on Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway….the queue is DISGUSTING. Carpet is stained all over…when there is carpet. There are large sections where it’s threadbare…you can literally see the concrete.
And yet you've got tons of people here in the comment section complaining that they can't afford to have your experience.
God used his divine powers to give me a pass for the Guardians ride instead.
The quality of the park itself was never really an issue. The problem is that the quality you get is no longer worth the price you pay.
For example: I come from a family of 6, a bit larger than most, and that naturally makes vacations more expensive for us. In 2013, it cost us $5000 to go to Disney - expensive, but worth saving up for. Now, that vacation would easily exceed $10,000…and *no one* can justify spending that much on a single vacation, no matter how good it is.
If Disney hadn’t started to nickle and dime me for visits I’d still be an out-of-state season pass holder for a family of 4.
Honestly, without all the post Covid changes I’d be ok with the ticket prices for what we used to get. Now, I spend a fraction elsewhere and have a better time with my family.
And for the record, while I’m sure Disney doesn’t care, we were spending 3-4K a trip in addition to $5,000 a year for passes. And we went 3-4 times a year. So yeah, we were fans who loved eating at the best restaurants and doing the mark up experiences across the board. Now, we spend less a year to visit Universal and other parks around the country than Disney cost us for 1 visit plus our passes.
So we’re getting the same number of vacations a year at a cost of around 40% of what we used to spend exclusively at Disney. And honestly, I’m glad Disney removed the value because it’s been more fun.
Bonus though, as we were such fans we have a great Disney rewards credit card. So since 2020 we did visit for 1 day last year, for free tickets and 80% of our meals paid for including a fine dinning sit down dinner at Epcot. As this allows us to spend an off day every few years to experience new attractions that’s great.
In 3 years or so, we’ll return for another day during an off day from Universal and their new park which I guarantee, we’ll be visiting next year for our 4th Universal week in an annual row. Yeah, Universal has become a must do annually for my kids. I think that says the most when 2 young kids prefer Universal over Disney when they don’t consider financial return whatsoever.
More expensive, more complicated, more lines, and more stuff you have to do in the app. This might make me seem like a boomer, but the amount of time you have to stare at your phone is so much that you don't get to absorb the ambiance. I'm as addicted to my phone as anyone, but on vacation, I want to put my phone away.
They can turn it around, but they have to make some huge announcements at D23, or Iger needs to go.
I agree. I try my best to “be in the moment” but this new system makes it hard.
The FIRST thing they need to do is LOWER ticket prices. They'd rather slap their mothers 10 times than even CONSIDER that.
I always been a universal fan . And when I’ve tried Disney . I paid 169$ for magic kingdom alone for one-day pass . Tron was the ride and it took 6hours virtual que +45 minutes extra physical line que time . And everything was so long and 1hr30m+ wait that I only got to ride like 3 rides for the ENTIRE day. It was hot and miserable and the ride for magic kingdom was so outdated . Their genie pass hardly find any usage and for the most part their average wait time is way too long. Making guest experience lack-luster and overall not worth the price . I felt scammed .I’ve been to magic kingdom 3 times . Everytime I was just disappointed. I would rather spend money on universal , atleast the rides are worth it . Universal paid so much attention to details in their park entertainments and rides . Why give your hard earned money elsewhere.
I agree on universal. There’s always deals too the longer you stay. I went to Disney for the Halloween party and it was super crowded still and average wait times were 60 minutes the whole night. I don’t understand the genie plus at the time so I couldn’t use it either… it was awful
Unfortunately the quality and changes at Disney World have made our Disney visits a thing of the past.
DVC member here, over the course of our ownership, time spent at Disney World property itself has drastically dropped. First blow was the elimination of Magical Express, which honestly led us to use cars either a rental or our own, which then led to Universal trips, which led to eventual Annual Pass purchase to Universal, which is a better value. Small penny pinching decisions by the Company lead to bigger loss, that is the cause of the downfall.
My wife and 4yro son just got back yesterday. I did not go bc waiting in lines and crowds aren’t for me. But they had the time of their lives. Never seen them happier
The only way that Disney will improve is to stop with making everything a money grab, especially things that were included free with your admission such as fast pass. This is not Walt envisioned when he opened the parks long ago!
Not going to happen! Disney only cares about its stock and how much money it can make to show growth to its investors! Long as fools keep buying into their products and paying outrageous prices for it there’s no reason from them to reduce prices!
We used to go every 3-4 years or so. It has 100% lost its magic. Even my daughter said she doesn’t want to go back.
I talked my father out of taking my two youngest cousins because I warned him not only about the insane prices but the possibility that they won't enjoy it. I suggested he wait until Epic Universal opens...😁
I will say nothing has convinced me about the decline of Disney then Disney itself. I became a passholder about a year ago and I really enjoyed going the first couple month but now Ive been on the fence about cancelling my passes because compared to Universal its not as good. I feel like everything with Diseny has been on a decline.
It has. The employees are generally unfriendly and even rude too!
5+ years for Tron is inexcusable 😂
Universal is building an entire new park, hotels, roads and other infrastructure in less time. Disney is a freakin joke!
Disneys current problem is their streaming service. Why go to the theaters if it comes to Disney + anyway? The result is that Disney has lately box office problem. But the problem goes even further. Because a streaming service needs a constant stream of content, Disney has to churn out subpar products. The result is that ips like marvel and star wars are now a shadow of their former selves.
Disneys themeparks are the biggest moneymakers for Disney and a lot of their profits are used to prop up the rest of the company. Why do they get neglected? I don't know.
They also want to use Disney+ viewing figures and reviews to determine what rides should be in the parks, a terrifying prospect for those wanting original rides like those of old Epcot.
@@intothemagicthere will never be an original ride built ever again unfortunately.
The general public don’t care, they only get attracted by the IP.
It’s sad, but true!
I agree and disagree. I was so disappointed in the Percy Jackson production. However, I did enjoy Loki and the Mandalorian.
It's also because of Disney constantly pushing their own politics into so much content that they put out. They don't want to tell a story, they want to push an IDEA. Look at the current slew of crap they put out last year. 2023 was significant: for the first time, Universal BEAT Disney in box office numbers. That's not good news for them...
Me and seven of my adult family members believe the costs are way to high, raping money from guests at every turn. The quality is poor, broken and breaking rides, electronic systems breaking down, broken and dirty restrooms, poor food, some actually uneatable, and over priced, reservation systems slow or impossible to maneuver, workers treating guest poorly, security untrained and bullying guests, transportation, missing, slow and overloaded when busy. After spending time at guest relations almost daily to get refunds or problems addressed I never feel fixed. If you have not been taken and treated badly enough try a plaid experience, it might have just been we got the worst plaid and tours, but I would never pay for that again. VIP at universal is real, plaid at Disney is a high priced joke. We used to go to the parks multiple times a year in Florida and California, we had yearly passes! Disney is frozen out now for years and unless something major changes, we will spread our funds in others.
Does Disney suck right now? You bet it does. But here's the thing. People still keep flocking down there and as long as people are willing to put up with this crap. Disney is still gonna keep dishing it out. I'm sure that this is gonna have long-term consequences for Disney down the road. Will see.
I disagree with a lot of points in this video, but the “nothing ever happens vs stuff is always happening” argument is, by far, the one I disagree with most. The fact it took WDW 5 years to build Tron (which is a copy/paste attraction from Shanghai, mind you) while it’s taking Universal Studios Orlando 6 years to build an all-new, all-original multi-day theme park with Epic Universe is RIDICULOUS. And both have been under construction since before the pandemic.
Plus hotels, roads and massive infrastructure.
Universal is getting better and better. It’s much easier to go. You can show up and just use the app to check wait times. You don’t need a battle strategy to get on a damn ride. Crowds aren’t insane as long as you’re not going during summertime. Tickets aren’t as expensive as Disney. Once Epic Universe opens, forget about it.
And the express pass is simpler than genie+. While it's pricy for the unlimited, you get every ride at any time as many times as possible. If you stay at a top resort you get it free with the room. And I think annual pass after a certain time of day can use their ticket either once per ride or as many times as possible.
The issue really stems from Disney's other businesses. Pretty much everything other than the Parks has been a freaking disaster for Disney over the past couple of years: their movies have almost all massively disappointed at the box office, Disney+ has lost them hundreds of millions, their TV channels are losing subscribers (specifically ESPN), they're still saddled with $70B+ in 20th Century Fox debt, and, worst of all, their premier brands (Marvel, Star Wars, Disney Animation, and Pixar) have all taken a big hit in reputation in one way or another. Thus, the company ups the prices of the parks, which are major money generators, yet don't give the division the budgets nor effective leadership to keep it innovating.
Disney started letting people finance their annual passes. They also took the slowest times in the park and turned them into months-long festivals and marathon days. Reducing ride wait times became an in-app purchase. These parks were built in the 70s and 80s with a US population of 200 million, not 350 million. And there’s your crowds and price hikes.
Disney doesn't want you to leave satisfied anymore. They want you to only be able to go on 3 rides and hope that you're willing and gullible enough to come back to do it again.
Not a huge disney fan, but i like this hopeful view of things while still addressing it's flaws. The internet is full of doom and gloom, so this style of video is comforting to me.
18:43 thank you for the note in the corner, I wouldn't have known which one was you if you didn't tell me
Glad that cleared it up 🫡
i love this video so much. you bring up every point that ive been dying to hear about! thank you for bringing up the bad-faith crit, its extremely important to move away from "dead on arrival" people and toward the criticism that looks at actually built and operational rides and attractions. this goes really well with brightsunfilms' video on his personal vacations to disney cost analyses. extremely good watch!
I think Disney should shift focus to renovations of existing buildings, attractions, scenery, restaurants, and shops. Journey into imagination (with figment) could be revitalized using old concept art, if they really want to uphold the ideals of "no idea every dies at Disney", and the ride could have scenes from the original but using modern technology and theming capabilities to make refreshed versions of scenes. It's a small world needs a renovation to fix animatronics and clean up and polish what is already there. Space mountain almost hurts to ride and should have it's track replaced. Spaceship earth is a loud clunky 2007 relic and needs to be updated using the most spectacular scenes from it's history and modern tech to tell the history of storytelling or communication. Instead of having all new attractions surrounded by outdated and unpolished rides, they should refresh the rest of the parks to match with the new rides. Refresh the surrounding areas too and get rid of the concrete jungle feel most of the park areas have.
Spent the last couple of days binging all of your videos. I was super excited to see this video just come out three hours ago!
The biggest problem I have with Disney is it’s consistency in creating new rides that rely on 4D/VR elements instead of the old fashion rides like pirates.
Don’t defend Disney. They’ve taken away so many perks and have raised the prices to the point where the average family, those who frequent their parks, can no longer afford to go. Taking away Splash Mountain, the most popular attraction in the world and my personal favorite, was the final nail in the coffin for me, and I’ll never go back.
5 years to build from?!!! Universal builds an entire park in 3 years.
I think your analysis was very on point and fair. Sooner or later this all will have to catch up with them. I think the real catalyst to what will give them a good scare would be the opening of Epic Universe; from all as it appears to be and from what I hear, they seem to be sleeping on it and don't consider it a threat, but then again, they probably didn't consider the Wizarding World a threat either until it opened and it completely blindsided them.
I do hope it turns around soon. I had a lot of fun last time I visited but even we agreed there were a lot of issues that absolutely needed addressing and hopefully that time will come soon. What you say about the social media generation is absolutely right though -- I was really surprised when you brought up the comparison of new rides from 2000-2004 to 2020-2024. I had never thought of it that way.
Good work on the video!
As someone who was there October 1, 1971 to today, I've been countless times. I stopped going in the early 2000s (2004). After the purchase of Lucasfilm I decided correctly that the company had changed (died). Disney couldn't give me all of the money on the planet to step foot on the property. I couldn't bare to see the parks deteriorated to what they are today. So, I choose to visit down the road... even if I'm not saving any money. It's just a better experience...and mostly worry free, with very little anxiety over reservations and paying extra to ride attractions that you've already paid to ride with your admission ticket.
Bottom line, if you're questioning whether you should visit WDW, my answer would be how badly do you want to have that experience? Because the answer to that may be more than you'd bargained for.
Yes, they are letting the park turn to shit with rude guests (trash, restrooms trashed, etc) and charging guests outrageous prices for less quality than years ago.
Well you can't blame Disney for rude guests I think Seaworld Orlando has the exact same problem
Many people have made the argument that guests are more angry and short tempered now because they're paying SO MUCH money and getting less and so are more angry and pushy, trying to maximise the (lack of) value and experience.@@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3od
When it comes to dollars spent on entertainment it is all about perceived "value". Disney was already pushing the limit of perceived value prior to COVID but fell off the edge afterwards. We used to pay for the Premium APs so that we could get a notion and go to the parks or waterparks whenever we wanted - especially Christmas week. When APs started having to schedule visits we gave up. Now we couldn't afford it if we wanted to. Disney is consistently showing that it is only the bottom line that they are interested in. They could care less about the locals that kept them afloat all these years in favor of people willing to drop $10,000+ on a once-in-a-lifetime week. Disney has also not only cut back on free value add-ons but has shortened hours, cut back on staff, and forced crowds into longer wait times. All of this adds up to frustrated visitors and staff leading to all of the incidents that have been occurring since COVID.
I’ve been a Disney Passholder for years! And this will be the first year where I’m not renewing. Disney has become overpriced, poor quality, overcrowded, no perks, stressful and the theming is all over the place now. My parents have seen the parks change since opening day and even they both agree Disney’s falling tremendously. Universal is listening to fans, providing perks and specials, cohesive theming and lands at cheaper prices. I used to be able to ride almost every ride at magic kingdom in one day (until 2021) then it became much harder. Now on my last trip to magic kingdom (2023) all I could do was the railroad and laughfloor. It breaks my heart to see Disney become pathetic because they used to be so great. Disney all started with one man’s dream. Out of every update and new attraction Disney has done in the last 5 years the only one I actually love and enjoy is Guardians of the Galaxy Rewind. Guardians has the same re- ride ability as Flight of Passage. Everything else that was new I did it once and never wanted to do again. The Epcot overhaul was extremely disappointing. While I am excited for Tiana’s Bayou, I fear they won’t meet fans expectations and also it’s only a retheme not a whole new attraction. I wonder how long it will take for Universal to take over the number 1 spot because with the current rate, I feel it may be soon.
At least Disneyworld gets new rides. Compare that to the studios park in paris that has only received bad clones and half baked ideas, or the main paris park that hasn't seen any new major rides since 1995, almost 30 years ago. In Paris, disney doesn't have to worry about big money competition from Universal. That's why they have left the paris resort with by far the worst dark ride lineup of any disney park.
Compared to Disneyland, it's been removing rides
Why does this remind me so much of kings dominion
Update on Epic Universe..... All the outdoor coasters now have trains on them, and are doing ride testing
Let's first talk about "The Rising Crowds" if Disney parks qualities are so low, why are the crowds SO high?? I remember going as a kid and being an AP holder as adult the crowds were never that bad, busy but never overwhelming....but Let's be real, AFTER the social media boom of 2015 and Pandemic, EVERYONE acts like they've never been to a Disney Park and HAVE TO GO just to post to social media.
The last time my family and I, visited WDW, was in 1997. Even back then, it was over crowded, lines for rides were ridiculous, and we got on maybe 4-5 rides, all day! I was not pleased!! We never stayed at these overpriced Disney resorts, either! We stayed off property at (believe it or not) a Day's Inn, on International Drive. We had a suite, and a rental car. We were able to go to a local grocery store, to buy the groceries needed to eat most of our meals, at the hotel. We had a full kitchen, and had a full breakfast, every morning. I made lunches, to have in the parks. We packed water, and juices, and cold washcloths to cool down. Supper was usually, fast food, in one of the parks. What was the BEST. was that we had full bus services from International Drive, to the parks. Epcot, at the time, was nothing to write home about, and Hollywood Studios (MGM) disappointed us so much.. Still, we saved so much more money, than anything we could afford, today. I vowed, back then, I would NEVER be back again!! And I haven't been!!
The issue is, is people still go.
The prices are clearly not putting enough people off to notice a drop in attendance.
Sure, the old fans might be pissed off with the changes (like me) but new people are non the wiser.
They don’t remember the days of free fast pass. Decent room rates. Free airport transfers.
I went in May 2023 snd it was busier than 2018 and the same trip cost me almost 40% more because there was no free dining.
I stayed at 2 bedroom villa in Saratoga springs for 14 days and it was £6000 with FREE FOOD in 2018!
The exact same room now is nearly 10,000 with no free food.
The crazy thing is, there’s no rooms left which means people are still paying it. Crazy!
Thank you for this. It’s great to see a theme park UA-camr for once call out the bad things about Disney theme parks right now, while also not sliding into total doomsday speak, recognizing the good attractions that have opened in recent years/the perks that Disney is at least slightly bringing back.
I hate the extremes of “we can only talk positively about Disney” vs. the “everything sucks about Disney” that just keep being repeated again and again by Disney UA-camrs. I appreciate this more nuanced take on things, while also acknowledging that things like pricing, nickel and diming, crowding, etc. ARE bad. Very true about Disney cycles.
Here’s to hoping they can swing upwards from this spiral- but agree, it’s not nearly as bad as some people will make it out to be (especially those with their own agenda, almost political at times).
Your videos are so nuanced! Love hearing your thoughts and opinions!
The nickel and diming is insane. And genie+ ruins the parks. They need to really restructure their plan and make it about bettering the customer experience. Instead of how much more additional money they can squeeze out of each guest. That is why universal is winning right now, and not Disney.
Sea world is just as bad! With a far worse park experience, they make Disney look much better.
Throughout my childhood my family was middle class, making enough to live comfortably, but not enough to afford disney. Now im 20, we are doing much better and have 2 extra streams of income... and we still can't afford disney 😤
You honestly aren't missing much. If you ever go to one of the "premier" parks, go to Universal or even Bush Gardens. They offer more for the $.
it’s just too overpriced, My mom spent like $80 for me and my family to have The genie pass, and then it never let us get it and when we went and asked why we didn’t have it All of the Cast members were super rude and told my mom that she didn’t buy them in the first place. But other than that, honestly the Disney magic has just completely gone away. None of the cast members are “magical” and overall mainly just rude with a horrible attitude and I think that’s probably due to them not getting paid enough when Disney definitely has more than enough money to pay them more.
When I worked for Magic Kingdom in 2010 a ticket to Magic Kingdom was $89.. 14 years later it's $180 for One Day. The food prices were about $9.99 for a hamburger and fries and now the same hamburger and fries are $15.49. gas is right now $3.60 a gallon where I am in Florida. I'm taking my GF for two days on vacation one day to Magic Kingdom and the next day to SeaWorld and we've already spent over $600. When we're done we will have spent almost $1000. Meaning $500 a day for two days at $250 per person per day. Disney is out pricing the middle class for the sake of catering to social media influencers, merchandise resellers and the rich.
I've been wondering about that lately.
My problem is just how unaffordable the parks are for lower-middle class families. I was able to have an annual pass for Disneyland for over a decade but I haven't gone to Disneyland OR Disney World for almost half a decade now because the price for just a single visit is ludicrously expensive. I can't spend close to 300 bucks for just a day of modest fun.
The lines would move just fine without the fastpass. Go to sea world and fun spot then if you don’t want to pay the premier experience… they’ll treat you like royalty there lmao!
Going to be very interesting what if anything is announced at D23 Expo this year
I think D23 is going to be super important for Disney this year, and I'm really hopeful that they do have some impressive stuff to offer.
As a recent casual visitor in Disney Tokyo...In fact, it bothered me a lot how inaccessible the best rides were just after a few hours in the morning, I couldn't really get into the attractions I was interested in like the one of Beauty and the Beast, or the haunted Mansion, the parades were phenomenal, but I entered very few interesting rides...like two. I hate that even to see the mascots you have to reserve a space, which sells out quickly, everything is simply more exclusive and complicated than when I went to Disney before ,more than a decade ago. It was very disappointed. And really made me feel as the magic of the place has gone. I would also recommend that if you want to go to Disney in Japan, go to Disney Tokyo, Disney Sea is like an Epcot only imitating Europe, the rides are cool but super short, and there are very few. There are no signs or anything like that to know where the lines go. And the parade, if you can call it that, consisted of about 6 mascots on a single boat appearing for about 5 minutes only.
They're not mascots, they're characters. And your description of Tokyo DisneySEA being like Europe is completely false.
I know it's become a reoccurring joke on here to say "Then CEO Michael Eisner" as being a bad apple for the company but looking at the theme park ticket prices it's amazing and shocking how amazingly stable and in someways stagnant the prices were, especially with all of the expansion. And then when Bob Iger came in how it suddenly ballooned in price.
I have seen many interviews of both Michael Eisner and Bob Iger and this might be controversial for you George but I dare say I think Michael Eisner probably did more to keep things fair and accessible at the park for most people compared to Igner. Also, I find in interviews he genuinely seems like a nice, honest if flawed man where Iger just has this "business man, bean accountant, cold, snake oil skin" receptivness of him. I can't really articulate but Bob Iger just somehow makes me uncomfortable and unnerves me.
Eisner had the weirdest Disney moves where you can tell he wanted to expand the Disney brand and push it out of its box. With Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons. Notice that Kingdom Hearts’ best uses of the Disney brand were under him.
There are a lot of comments online that the reason why wait times have increased is because Disney has cut cast members time and reduced head count for many rides, in order to save money and maximize profits... And increase the used of Genie +. I can believe that, which is in part why I am never returning to WDW again.
Disney World FEELS like it's getting worse because we've never paid so much for so little. Remember when extra magic hours gave all hotel guests a couple extra hours in the parks at night? Now, those are only available to guests staying at deluxe resorts...honestly, those guests should be grateful that's not a separately priced "perk" yet. Give it time! It's inevitable at this point.
Bob and josh have ruined the parks and the company. We need a massive shake-up in management asap. Based on the vast majority of the additions made to the parks in the last 10 years, being mediocre at best I AM NOT looking forward to anything they may or may not announce. Im terrified to find out what they will be replacing or ruining next. They've ruined epcot and i fear that they are dead set on ruining animal kingdom next.
Just saw that Disney was voted the biggest rip off in the country recently oh my God it just keeps getting worse and worse for Disney
WDW Splash Mountain 68 animatronics, Tiana's Fog Adventure: 16. Like Don Vito said, "Look how they massacred my boy!"
I liked the highlighting of we’ve seen this kind of slump before, but at least for the time being, there doesn’t seem to be any motivation to compete with the opening of Epic Universe. If something doesn’t get announced this D23, the slump will likely continue until Iger is out. When will Disney get a CEO that actually leaves without ruining their reputation first?
Babe wake up, the GOAT just posted again
It doesn’t take a boomer mentality or anything like that to see that quality is degrading and cost is increasing across-the-board. Whether you were talking about theme park or otherwise.
I grew up with WDW. Actually we used to live in SoCal so my first Disney was the original. When I was in my teens, if the wait time was over 20 minutes, we'd go to another attraction. Even back then we'd not do the parades or fireworks, preferring to be able to ride an attraction multiple times in quick succession- almost like 'ultra' special magic hours.
The problem (one of the problems) is that it's becoming so prohibitively expensive that it limits guests to only people with a high amount of disposable income. I come from a working/lower middle class a family of four that managed to afford two Disney trips while my brother and I were kids- in 1999 and 2009. They were pricey and my parents had to save a lot for them, but we managed it. Nowadays? It wouldn't be possible at all. I certainly don’t see myself ever bothering to shell out the kind of cash needed for a Disney trip, and I have a higher earning potential than my parents ever did. It's just not worth it.
People just finance the tickets now… more debt.
For me it's the lack of cleanliness at Disney. 😢
It's pretty bad. When my family and I went during spring break, there were at least two rides every day that we were either in line for or had a fastpass for broke down riiiight as we were about to get on. Sometimes it was three. On a bad day it was four. A majority of the broken rides were the 'a-tier' rides that everyone wanted to get on. My family and I are grateful for the fact that we can go to disney once a year, since it's close in location, but I can't imagine a once-in-a-lifetime trip for a family who spends a lot of time waiting for the best rides only to have them break the rest of the day. In a park like Animal, where there's only 7 rides functioning on a good day, it's not fair to families without parkhopper (which is now crazy expensive). It feels so moneyhungry now 😩
And no one wanted a retheme to Splash Mountain, which is why it's getting so much hate even before the ride is even open.
Or u lot are just racist
They call it, "Broke Back Mountain" now.
@@rnettles6241They. Meaning a bunch of backward rednecks who spew hate every five seconds. Splash was iconic, for sure. It shouldn't have been replaced for ANY reason. But spitting and throwing up gay jokes and calling things "woke", is for ignorant mouth breathers who just like to complain.
You pay your life savings to travel across the country on a plane, rent a car, stay in a glorified motel, take a shuttle, walk in the heat, just to stand in a line for the majority of your day. It's never made sense to me, but at least used to be justified because you got truly amazing experiences once you finally got onto them. But now, not even that.
I'm just not interested in going to Disney world anymore. I'm just way more excited about Universal's parks. Disney has become boring and ridiculously over priced.
Oh baby I can’t wait for epic universe !!
Thank god I live near Europa Park and have Phantasialand and Efteling not too far away. Prices are fair, and if you are flexible, you can easily find dates with low to moderate crowds. There was a time when I would have loved to visit Disney Land in France, Florida or California, but nowadays I am totally in boycot mode.
I just went to WDW over the weekend. I’ve been going for almost two decades. The magic has sadly been disappearing
I was just there on Wednesday and I felt like there was still some magic. I don’t know is that just me?
Maybe it's because you've been going for over 20 years? Anyone would tired of something if they did it for that long.
@@voxicwaste I just meant that with everything being monetized
I can't talk about universal Orlando but, here in California universal is better than your experience was in the 2000's. No reservation system, there's an actual off season resulting in shorter wait times, and the annual pass is reasonable for locals. The only downside is that Hollywood is a very small park compared to DLand or local favorite Knotts.
Universal Orlando doesn’t have any kind of reservation system and it’s also 100% better than their half-assed park in Hollywood.
@@werewolflover8636 well Hollywood is the original. It was never meant to be a park where as Orlando was always intended to be one. USH wouldn’t exists as it does now (same with USF) if it wasn’t for the popularity of the Studio Tram Tour early on.
The biggest let down as an annual pass holder is the food. The quality has gone down over the years and the prices have gone up same thing if you want a water or soda is almost 7$
The answer is YES, it's getting soo much worse
For me my issue is how their replacing splash, it just feel so disengenuise replacing both splash mountains and it really bothered me and my family. Sorry if it sounds petty but we really loved splash. Like this move to replace it with Tiana really just made going to the disney parks not worth it anymore, because that was one of the main reasons my family would go it was our favorite ride especially being able to ride splash over and over during fireworks, and with the price hike and all these add ons we are just not gonna go anymore.
Like at this point my family is just saving to go to Tokyo instead since it still has a splash mountain, why pay so much for a park affected with genie+ when we could just go to tokyo disneyland
I think most people who visited the parks had no idea Splash Mountain had any connection to Song of the South (mostly because very few had watched the film), I thought it was an original park creation like Pirates of the Caribbean (was!). So it developed a following as just a ride, and when people thought of Br'er fox/bear/rabbit, they didn't think of Song of the South (or even the African American oral traditions they came from originally), they thought of Splash Mountain.
It was just right after George Floyd, Disney, like a lot of corporations, got into a bit of a panic and wanted to rid themselves of anything that could be connected to something that was racially problematic, so Splash Mountain got put in the crosshairs. And now it's too late to reverse course.
@@Croz89 I mean I knew it was from song of the south after researching it when I was younger since it did look like it was from a disney movie, but I just seperated the film from the ride since aside from the brers everything from the ride is wildly different and to me felt like its own thing, thats how I took the ride atleast since none of the characters from the ride aside from the brers were in the film.
Idk like to me atleast it just feels ridiculous to replace, even tho I know its too late to reverse this course :/
I rode splash Mountain before and I liked it. I don’t know why I’m not to pressed about them turning it into Tiana’s Bayou adventure. Because they said that it’s still going to have the water and the drops as splash mountain did.
@@TVTIME-be8ze the point for me was the animatronics, music, and scenery thats changing as a whole, I dont care about the track. To me it was my favorite ride because of how wonderful the scenes and backround were.
@@bewarebewear1507 That's a fair argument, take away the theming and it's a pretty mid tier log flume.
Disney is so 1970, 80s, who says they want to vacation at Disney. What a nightmare. Flight, hotel, transportation, food, tickets, lines, never again!°!!!
Makes sense
The biggest problem with Tiana specifically was that they put a lot of money in replacing Splash Mountain, which was still very popular, instead of adding capacity and rides. Nobody would have been mad if they added a Tiana ride. The reason it has become so widely debated is because it replaced something that didn't need replacing.
Just got back from Disney last week couldn’t believe how bad it got it’s not the same place we grew up on it’s dirty people are nasty cast members are not nice it’s super overprice the food is overrated the hotels are insane a complete rip off the park is not maintained things are broken down everything is outdated it’s just absolutely heartbreaking
Why would I pay thousands to go to a declining theme park with miserable crowds when I can watch every attraction for free on UA-cam from the comfort of my home?
I hope they provide some high capacity rides in the proposed expansion plans. Part of the crowd problem is Disney not doing much to increase capacity despite high attendance. Park expansions would definitely help but they desperately need rides that can eat up a lot of guests at a time. I love Guardians but they should have re-themed Ellen's Energy Adventure to something more modern instead cause that monster could hold SO many people at a time. Same with the Great Movie Ride. They replaced these extremely high capacity attractions with ones that have a significantly lower capacity without anything to account for the overflow. New shows would also help regulate some of the crowds as well. Disney has reduced a lot of their streetmosphere and entertainment options which leaves little for guests to do except rides, food, or shopping and that leads to long lines for pretty much anything. Do any of the parks other than MK even have parades anymore? Parades are a great way to manage crowds because lines tend to go down due to people choosing to watch the parade instead.
Lastly, they need to invest more in maintenance because having rides constantly break down means capacity is lowered even MORE. Disney's operations are embarrassing right now due to Disney overworking and underpaying staff instead of hiring more workers and compensating their current workforce fairly. Cast Members have been less friendly lately cause a lot of them are being majorly burnt out with very little to show for it. The love of Disney magic can only sustain someone for so long if they're having trouble putting food on the table. A lot of cast members are having to live out of their cars due to high cost of living.
Fixing these issues specifically would make the park experience much more enjoyable in my opinion.
Love your videos George !
my family went about once a year from 2005-2012 and since then have gone every 3 or so years. I think I agree with everything you've said. it is getting worse, the crowds are suffocating and the prices are absurd, but the parks are still really good and some of the new rides have been exceptional. last time I went was right before the tron ride opened and I want to go on it so bad, it's not old yet!!
I always love Disney they are completely out of control anymore . Seems like universal offers more for cheaper prices.
The last time I went to Disney was in 2012 I believe, and even back then the parks were packed and slow, long wait times, etc. I hate Disney just for that fact. I would be willing to pay more for a ticket if they lowered the capacity of the park
Corporate greed ALWAYS ruins everything in the long run.
Disney came up with a brilliant idea, but he wanted to GIVE. Give pleasure, enjoyment, a good time, wholesome entertainment and incidentally make some money, but that was not the primary objective. He was spectacularly successful.
Then after his death, the vultures took over - slowly. They were, and are, not interested to GIVE ANYTHING.
They just want to take. Take and take money, lots of it, and ever more and more.
We're seeing the usual(!) ending already, when unbridled greed takes over after the original creator is gone.
Disney is dying slowly - the signs are already there - the theme parks, the film-making are in trouble.
Curious how long the cruise business will last, albeit even that has some early cracks...
As of now, after going 15 times since 1996, disney has lost the magic. I am now 63 yrs old, i can not justify paying this crazy amount to go. Sad as it is i now feel universal studios is much more affordable.
In 2000, a box of cigarettes and a one-day, one-park ticket to Disney World both cost $35. Now, one costs $670-70, and the other is a one-day, one-park ticket to Disney World.
At this point you’re better off going to international parks like Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris and Hong Kong. Better quality
In Animal Kingdom news vis a vis all the blue sky renders around Indiana Jones/Canto area, WDW is building a very large backstage construction management area with numerous buildings and parking areas. There are several large expansion plots around AK. And in the MK, the rumored land(s) beyond Big Thunder that would wrap completely around the rivers of America to meet up in the pet cemetary area of the Haunted Mansion. This would be a Very large expansion loop with lots to do including at least two E tickets.